Witnesses detain Whittier kidnapping suspect

WHITTIER - A registered sex offender was chased and detained by witnesses Wednesday after he allegedly grabbed an 18-year-old woman in Uptown and tried to pull her away.

Whittier police were called just after 2 p.m. about a possible kidnapping in the 6700 block of Greenleaf Avenue. Department spokesman Officer Bradley White said officers arrived and saw the man being detained by witnesses.

White said the preliminary investigation shows the woman met the suspect earlier in the day and willingly spent a number of hours with him walking in Uptown.

The victim told police that while walking in an alley, the man grabbed her around the waist from behind and attempted to pull her towards him.

"She tried to get away and break his grasp," White said.

He said people saw the struggle and called 9-1-1.

The man ran but was chased and caught by witnesses, police said.

David Polanco, 41, who lives in the unincorporated county area near Whittier, was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping. He is being held at Whittier police jail in lieu of $100,050 bail.

According to the Megan's Law database, Polanco has prior convictions for annoying or molesting a child and for touching a person intimately against their will for sexual arousal. The database doesn't say when or where these incidents happened.

Police said they released Polanco's mug shot because he is a sex offender and want the public to report any suspicious contact they may have had with him.

White said it's too early to say if Polanco is tied to other kidnapping, attempted kidnapping and child annoyance incidents that have occurred in the city since February.

This is the second attempted kidnapping this week in Whittier.

On Tuesday night, a man tried to kidnap a boy who was playing at Parnell Park but ran off after the boy's older brothers punched and kicked the culprit.